One-skillet tomato-sauced tortellini with kale

[ilzolende]

Dinner for me tonight was a modified version of Sheela Prakash's Tuscan Tortellini Skillet recipe.

Modifications to the ingredients

I added dried basil and oregano, because they seem to improve tomato sauce a bit.

I used more than the recommended amount of red pepper flakes.

I used a 28 ounce can of whole tomatoes instead of 2 pounds fresh, because a) unless you shop at a good market in peak season, fresh tomatoes in sauce skew overrated, and b) hah, imagine me successfully keeping fresh produce in my fridge when the canned stuff is good enough

I used only 12 ounces of frozen tortellini instead of the suggested 19, because I wasn't cooking for a crowd, I have a small skillet, I was using less tomato, and also increasing the vegetable and sauce to pasta ratio is both tasty and healthy. Pasta historically has had low amounts of sauce mostly due to it being cheaper than the sauce components, but I can afford to use lots of tomatoes thanks to modernity, so I will.

I used chopped kale instead of baby spinach, because it keeps a lot better.

I cut the Parmesan, because when I tasted it at the end it seemed good enough without, and it includes cheese tortellini, so cheese is already present.

Modifications to the recipe

I started by heating the oil along with the garlic, red pepper flakes, and black pepper, because I wanted to let the spices get more integrated with the oil and give the garlic a chance to disintegrate a bit before the tomato acid reinforced it. Also, I got started with tomato sauces through arrabbiata sauce, which uses this technique.

I gently punctured the tomatoes with a fork before chopping them, to reduce spray.

I added the tomato flesh to the skillet and let it cook down a bit before adding the tomato liquids, to reduce overflow.

I added the kale around the same time as the tortellini, because unlike spinach it needs cooking.

Overall, this totally worked and I would recommend it.

Comments

[contrarianarchon]

Sounds tasty! Not sure I agree with kale as a good substitution, but then I'm really not a bitter leafy greens kinda person in any capacity.

[crnahg_yhor]

I've made a similar thing a couple of times, and I've found that, even out of season, cherry/grape tomatoes work pretty well (and I don't have to chop them at all; they pop with heat)... though they're kinda expensive out of season, so maybe not.

[ilzolende]

It gets pretty nice to eat when cooked, in my experience, and doesn't seem bitter to me. But also I can't really handle keeping around lots of short-lived produce.